This chapter begins a new vision which lasts until
Revelation
16. The order and structure of this vision are scrambled from our point
of view (see my discussion on the Nature
of Prophecy).
It starts with a mystical vision of the Theotokos and the birth of Christ, "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent" (Revelation 12:1-2, 4-5, 13). We can confirm this by looking to contemporary depictions of the Theotokos and with passages from the Gospels:
"Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And when the angel had come to her, he said, 'Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.' When she had heard him she was troubled at his word, and kept pondering what manner of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for thou has found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he shall be king over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:26-33); andInterspersed with this is a mystical account of the opposition in Heaven and on Earth to the birth of Christ, "And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born" (Revelation 12:3-4). The red dragon represents the Devil who tries to prevent the birth of Christ, or to kill him upon his birth. This attempt is first thwarted by a war in Heaven "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven" (Revelation 12:6-7). The devil and his angels are then cast down onto the Earth "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." (Revelation 12:8). The struggle then continues on the Earth "And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. " (Revelation 12:13, 15). On Earth, the struggle is resolved by the flight into the desert "And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth" (Revelation 12:6, 14, 16). Here again we find familiar numbers, 1260 and "a time, and times, and half a time" which is 1 + 2 + 0.5 = 3.5. The two numbers are the same: 1260 days = 42 months = 3.5 years. The Theotokos and Christ remain in the desert for this period of time, which marks the time from the birth of Christ to the Death of King Herod. The heat of the Earth and the distance serve as a natural protection against the advancements of the Devil and his agents, notably Herod's slaughter of the innocents:
"But when they [the Magi] had departed, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, 'Arise, and take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and remain there until I tell thee. for Herod will seek the child to destroy him.' So he arose, and took the child and his mother by night, and withdrew into Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod" (Matthew 2:13-15)
"Then Herod, seeing that he had been tricked by the Magi, was exceedingly angry; and he sent and slew all the boys in Bethlehem and all its neighborhood who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had carefully ascertained from the Magi" (Matthew 2:16).The bloodshed that soaked the ground as a result of this action is compared to a flood. At his failure to stop Christ's mission the Devil is frustrated, and his frustration fuels his anger, so he redirects it against the Christians (see my discussion on who the Christians are), "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 12:17). So, while this is a victory in Heaven, it is the start of persecutions on the Earth "Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time" (Revelation 12:12). The eventual outcome on Earth is a victory, but at the price of many lives "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death" (Revelation 12:11). The death and resurrection of Christ is indicated by "the blood of the Lamb"; the process of evangelism is indicated by "the word of their testimony", and the deaths of martyrs is indicated by "they loved not their lives unto the death". The "short time" of the Devil is the period of time from the birth of Christ until the end of time, at which time the forces of God will defeat the Devil once and for all "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night" (Revelation 12:10).